


Origami Swans

by TheDesertPenguin (PANguin)



Series: Paper Love [1]
Category: IT - Stephen King
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, F/F, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, I uploaded this took it down then uploaded it again, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, M/M, Richie also plays soccer because I say so, Richie and Eddie have problems, Soft Stenbrough
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-10
Updated: 2019-10-10
Packaged: 2020-11-28 20:55:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20972915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PANguin/pseuds/TheDesertPenguin
Summary: “Listen, I have a proposition for you,” Richie stood up, Eddie had to look up to match his gaze, “Your friends, mainly Bev if we’re being honest, keep bugging you about getting into a relationship and my folks keep nagging me about it. So, how about we keep this little act up, just in front of a few people?”“We barely get along,” Eddie stated, “what the fuck makes you think we could make this work?”“It’s a symbiotic relationship,” Richie continued, “We both get something in return.”Eddie pinched the bridge of his nose, “And when do you suppose is this going to end?”“Haven’t planned that far ahead,” Richie smiled, “I guess when your mom finally agrees to go out with me.”“That’s it get out I’m not considering it anymore,” Eddie waved him away and turned around to walk back to his room. Richie thwarted the plan when he latched onto his wrist.“Okay okay sorry,” Richie turned Eddie around and let go of his wrist, “I’m serious though,”





	Origami Swans

**Author's Note:**

> This story does have mentions of  
Child/Drug/Alcohol abuse so please be careful

With a groan and unceremonious plop down onto the chair, Eddie had already proved himself to be a force to be reckoned with and he hoped that was enough for the people around him to understand that no, you should not talk to him. Even on his best days, Eddie was temperamental but today, today he was so beyond over it. He had woken up a full two hours before his alarm went off -which it usually went off at six am so he was reasonably upset- without any hope of falling asleep again. He then spilled his coffee and dropped his favorite mug effectively shattering it and to top it all off he had accidentally deleted all of his progress on his 15-page essay.

All this had led him to a small coffee shop across from his apartments, that his roommate and best friend, Bill, works at. It was a quaint little place with delicious pastries and even better coffee. He had ordered his usual, a simple iced coffee with half-half and a very small amount of sugar. With how his day was going he decided to add a blueberry muffin on top of it. Eddie opened his laptop and began to redo his essay.

After about 30 minutes the chair across from him squeaked as it was pulled out. Eddie looked up to see Bill in his work uniform. His blue eyes shone with amusement and Eddie had automatically begun to feel better. Bill just had that ‘aura’ around him that immediately lifted everyone.

“Tough day?” Bill asked, smirking slightly.

“You have no idea,” Eddie groaned, he began recounting the events of his day. In the end, Bill was chuckling with his arms crossed and leaning back.

“I’m sure you’ll survive Eddie,” Bill smiled, “it’s not the end of the- BABY!” Eddie jumped at Bill’s sudden outburst and whipped his head around to see Stan.

Bill and Stan began dating a year ago, it was a long time coming in Eddie’s oh so humble opinion. They had met in their first year of college and Bill had become instantly obsessed. Stan seemed to be indifferent as he met Bill’s attempts with trademark sarcasm. However, last year in their third year Bill got a girlfriend named Audra. She was nice and he seemed to be happy enough with her, they were comfortable with each other. Stan was not happy though, he would make up lame or sometimes ridiculous excuses -Eddie remembers one time that Stan had said he needed to ‘buy a horse for his mom’s new ranch’ which there were so many things wrong with that statement that Eddie didn’t even want to dissect it- to get out of hanging out with them. Bill went spiraling wondering what was happening. This led Audra to break up with him and then she enlisted the help of Eddie to set the two up.

It ended well and now it was difficult to find either one without the other. Eddie had suggested that the two just move in with each other which had both of them scoffing. Apparently, they were waiting till after college which made Eddie roll his eyes. They wanted to be with each other but were being held back by their roommates as they both didn’t have anyone else to live with.

Ah yes, Richie, Stan’s roommate. Eddie and him never had gotten along and that’s all he needed to say about that.

Bill immediately ran and hugged Stan as if they hadn’t seen each other just last night. Believe Eddie, they definitely saw one another last night. Stan’s soft smile as he nestled into his neck said everything that needed to be said.

“Bill,” Eddie interrupted, “you need to get back to work, breaks over lover boy,”

“Listen Eds, nicknames are my thing I’d really prefer you to not take that away from me,” Eddie held back a groan and looked Richie in the eyes.

“Oh Stan,” Eddie said, “I think you took a wrong turn, the dump yard is a few blocks away,”

“A comment about me being trash?” Richie smiled, “I think you need some new material,”

Bill who had let go of Stan rolled his eyes and went back to work. This was nothing new, the two never really got along. Eddie couldn’t stand Richie’s immaturity while Richie could barely stand Eddie's maturity. They didn’t spend much time together but there were occasions when they were forced to hang out. Even then they barely interacted as to limit the amount of fighting they did.

“Can you please not today?” Stan groaned, “I brought Richie here because he’s a bitch without coffee and our coffee maker doesn’t work anymore,”

“Funny, I thought he was always a bitch,”

“Only around you,” Richie grunted and went over to order his coffee.

“It was nice seeing you Stan,” Eddie smiled, “but I’m feeling sick just from looking at string bean so I’m gonna head out,”

Eddie gathered his laptop, muffin, and coffee and made his way back to his apartment.

…

When Beverly knocked on Eddie’s door, he knew that his already bad day was about to get worse. He loved Bev don’t get him wrong, she was one of his closest friends. They had met in their first year and became friends in less than a week. They would lament all their problems to each other and started a weekly tradition of eating ice cream while watching any movies they deemed were worthy. Which at this point was any movie, they’ve seen good ones and bad ones with many jokes exchanged.

However, when Bev came and actually knocked that’s when he knew shit was going to be serious. His suspicions were confirmed when he saw her tear-stained face and slumped onto him. He pulled her in and closed the door, he rubbed her back and told her to sit on the couch.

“What’s wrong?” Eddie tentatively asked

“My girlfriend fucking broke up with me because I ‘too extroverted’,” Bev mocked, “What the hell does that even mean?”  


Eddie sighed, “Bev I’ve been telling you that she wasn’t good for you,”

It was true, her new girlfriend was pretty but that was where her good qualities stop. Bev and her constantly fought and she would always hold Bev back from doing anything. Eddie was adamant about Bev ending the relationship but Bev insisted that she was fine but had a hard time being around others. Now, Eddie was prepared to comfort his friend.

“I know!” Bev wailed, “and I think I knew that too but for fuck's sake I always get myself into these situations.”

“You’ll find the right one eventually,” Eddie assured because Bev deserved it.

Bev laughed lightly, “I don’t think so Eddie, I appreciate it but I guess dad screwed me up more than I originally thought,”

Eddie had to stop himself from recoiling. One thing that the two had bonded over was their upbringing. They would talk about the ways their parents treated them until they were both in tears and smiling because they had a person who understood. Eddie knew that his mother gave him a terrible fear of germs and made him an extreme hypochondriac. But when Eddie thought about it, he thought that Bev got the worse of it. Every relationship she had been in was terrible and always ended her with tears.

“I believe you will find the right girl who will treat you right Bev,” Eddie smiled, “but for now we will eat ice cream and watch the next movie on the list okay?” Bev smiled and nodded.

“Instead of my love life we should talk about yours,” Bev remarked when he got in the kitchen.”

Eddie groaned loudly, “Can we please not,”

“Dude, you haven’t had a relationship since Aaron,” she said as she took a spoon from Eddie and dug into her carton of ice cream, “and that was two years ago,” Eddie scrunched up his nose as she spoke with her mouth full.

“I just haven’t found anyone yet,” Eddie shrugged and began scrolling through Netflix to find a movie, “I’m not exactly looking either,”

“It’s been two years without sex and romantic intimacy,” Bev said

“Who says I haven’t had sex?” Eddie tilted his head. When Bev’s eyes shot up he laughed, “Bev I’m not that sad and a lot of guys want this,” he gestured to himself.

Bev laughed, “Of course they do,” Eddie put on a random movie and the rest of the night was spent watching and joking.

…

Bill sat on the floor watching the scene before him unfold, he quickly considered taking out his phone to Snapchat it but he thought better of it. Currently, Bev was trying to tackle a laughing Richie with Ben trying to hold her back. Mike was standing in the corner with a bored look on his face as if this was just a normal occurrence (which it was). Eddie was currently curled up with a look of horror on his face while Stan was simply going through his phone his head on Bill’s shoulder.

What had happened was that the group decided to play a game of _Sorry_ in teams. Stan had said that he was the mediator, which really meant that he didn’t want to play but he’ll act like he’s participating. One thing led to another and Richie was winning with Beverly, until he got cocky and pulled bad cards three times in a row. Instead of Bev blaming the cards she blamed Richie and well, here they were.

“Jesus Bev if I had known you wanted to jump my bones this bad, I would’ve said yes,” Richie cackled.

“I’m going to kill you!” Bev yelled, “how can you be so bad at picking cards?” Ben pulled Bev back his arms trapping hers. Her jean-clad legs began thrashing but it was enough for Richie to launch himself to the other side of the room.

“This just in Miss Marsh,” Richie said in a 50’s newscaster voice as he rubbed his glasses clean with his vintage MTV shirt, he then smoothed his jeans -which wear rolled up slightly so you could see his socks even though he wore hightops, Stan told Bill that he took the decent clothes from Richie’s closet and dressed him-, “you’ve been arrested for attempted murder. Golly, cool down with a nice lemonade,”

Beverly sat on the couch and crossed her arms, “I cannot believe we lost,”

“Hey, you came close,” Ben assured, “that’s what ma-,” he shut up when Bev’s glare directed to him.

“I think you’re getting too worked up over this,” Mike commented sitting down again, “it’s just a board game,”

“I don’t have bragging rights,” Bev said throw her head back, “next game we play I’m taking Ben, Eddie you can have Richie,”

Eddie sputtered uncurling himself, “Excuse me? What makes you think I want that lanky monkey on my team?”

“Lanky monkey?” Richie placed a hand on his chest in mock offense, “I’ll have you know everyone likes the long limbs. Especially your mom, she personally said she likes it when we were-,”

“Beep beep Richie,” Stan muttered

“You’re so disgusting,” Eddie threw a pillow at Richie in an effort to shut him up. The pillow hit the wall next to the taller boy whose eyes followed the flying object. He crossed his arms clearly unimpressed.

“I hope you didn’t expect to go pro Eds,” he said. He tucked his foot under the pillow and kicked up before catching it easily. He tossed it back to Eddie who caught it and muttered ‘show off’.

“How about,” Mike suggested, “we stop playing board games before either Beverly rips our heads off or Eddie rips Richie’s vocal cords out in an effort to shut him up,”

“Don’t give me any ideas,” Eddie muttered, “duct tape didn’t work last time,”

“Eds, no matter what you try there’ll always be a way for the next person to hear my voice,” Richie smiled as he sat down on Mike’s recliner.

“Can we just I don’t know talk or something?” Ben asked sweetly

“Well, who could say no to that?” Bev cooed

“Your mood certainly made a 180,” Mike commented and Bev waved him off.

Stan shifted and lifted his head up slowly. Bill looked over at him and saw Stan rubbing his eyes tiredly. He smiled at his boyfriend and rubbed the back of his neck. Stan yawned in response and stretched his arms up. Bill was always in awe of how cute he could be, whenever they were in public Stan was always a monotone and indifferent person but around him, he just was different. He didn’t know how to explain it but it felt like Stan could be himself in private and he loved it.

“Hey, baby you tired?” Bill asked and moved his hand from Stan’s neck to his back. The boy nodded yawning yet again. Bill chuckled, “Hey guys, Stan’s tired so I’m going to take him home.”

“Do me a favor Big Bill,” Richie said, “and don’t have sex on my bed, again.”

“No promises,” he winked

“Wait, you guys haven’t done it on my bed right?” Eddie shot up looking terrified.

“Who knows,” Stan muttered as he shucked on his jacket.

“Oh my god!” Eddie very nearly shrieked, “you guys can never have sex at our place again. Keep it at Stan’s,”

“Exsqueeze me?” Richie balked, “they’re like rabbits I would never get sleep again,”

“Bitch I don’t want their nasty germs on my bed!”

“We don’t have sex that often,” Bill rolled his eyes, “chill Eddie,”

“You’re fucking disgusting get out of my sight,” Eddie shooed him away Bill laughed as he pulled Stan with him. He knew Eddie long enough to know when he was joking and when he was being serious.

They walked home hand in hand silently. This usually happened, they would walk in complete silence, it wasn’t awkward just comfortable. When they got to Stan’s apartment Bill decided that he was actually going to go home for once. He couldn’t remember a night where he and Stan didn’t spend a night together. It seemed like ever since their 4-month anniversary they were always with each other at night. No, it wasn’t always sexual, most of the time it was just cuddling. Tonight though, Bill had to get up supremely early for the opening shift so it was better to just spend the night by himself instead of waking up Stan.

“I wish we didn’t have to go separate ways,” Stan admitted as he turned in the doorframe, “do you really think that we could move in after college?”

“Believe me, baby,” Bill softly assured, “I want to move in now but Eddie’s job at the shop wouldn’t keep the apartment we have without help,”

“I know,” Stan smiled lightly, “do you think we could move those two in?”

Bill laughed, “Not unless we want them dead and I don’t think you’re at that point with Richie,”

“Yet,” Stan corrected, “if he keeps making that damn origami shit and bringing it home,”

“Awe is poor Stanley tired of it,”

“Of course, I am!” Stan said exasperated, “but it helps him so I guess I’ll keep up with it.”

“You love him don’t lie,” Stan rolled his eyes, Bill cupped Stan's cheek, “Soon, baby soon.”

Stan held Bill’s hand, “I know,” they shared a quick kiss and said goodnight.

And as Bill laid in his bed, he tried to ignore how empty it felt.

…

Richie happily went to the party without any qualms. Normally, he’d feel a little anxious about the whole thing. He didn’t drink so he had to be the designated driver, always. It was usually a hassle when he could be at home with a soda in one hand and mastering a video game in the other. Today was just different for whatever reason he was actually excited to go. Maybe it was because his soccer team were the ones hosting it.

Despite his usual hatred of soccer and all things related, he enjoyed his teammates at the very least. His high school team was nothing but complete and utter trash, not in playing but in between. There was drinking, smoking, and constant offensive jokes that while Richie considered himself the king of untasteful jokes, those jokes were about things that even he would never joke about. This team, however, was incredibly nice and took in his jokes with pride sometimes even joining in which, even though he loved the ‘Losers Club’ it was nice to be around people who liked his jokes. They also were supportive of each other if they lost and cheered loudly if they won. It was nice, Richie loved it.

He pulled up to the house and parked the car, “Okay you hooligans,” Richie said loudly with his old man voice, “I want to be leaving by midnight, if you’re not here by at least 12:05 you’ll be stranded with no hope,”

“Yessir,” Bev saluted with grumbles of agreement following.

The party was loud and very much like a typical college party. Though Richie had managed to snag some apple juice from the fridge to make it seem as though he were drinking alcohol. He may not drink but he didn’t need anyone, besides Stan at least, to know that. He mingled and conversed with his semi-drunk teammates. He even managed to talk to other people he didn’t know, which wasn’t necessarily new for him as he made friends easily but he was proud of being able to talk to them without the inkling of wanting to take a sip.

He was doing well when he came across Eddie getting a new drink. He crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe, “Eds, I don’t mean to judge your drinking habits but I don’t think that amount of sugar is good for your health,”

“And why the hell would I care,” Eddie spat. Ah, there it is, the trademark sarcasm that came with the little swan.

Richie shrugged standing straight now, “You’re the health fanatic,”

“I’m trying not to care as much dipshit,” Eddie muttered as he tried to move past him.

“What the fuck do I do to provoke you?” Richie grunted

“Existing, dipshit,” Eddie slurred.

That was the end of that conversation and Richie did his best to not cross paths with the devil swan. He didn’t know what it was that annoyed Eddie so much but it certainly wasn’t helping his self-doubt. Richie took a place at the sidelines of the party, taking sips of the juice and talking to anybody who needed a break from the dancing and make them laugh. He was smiling with some girl who had taken residence next to him for about five minutes. They were definitely flirting and he was ready to, as they say, ‘lay it on thick’.

That is until he felt his arm tugging him and turning him around. Eddie was standing before him, eyes full with anxiety, “What do you-,”. He barely had time to register Eddie mouthing sorry before he kissed Richie.

…

A migraine was beginning to form and Eddie was about ready to riot. Bill had dragged him to a party despite his protests. Now Eddie was standing at the side, music blaring from seemingly all angles. He held a cup filled with beer that he had been nursing for the past hour, truthfully, he hated beer but it was the one thing that wasn’t a mix of some weird shit. He desperately wanted to sit down but there was nowhere to sit. So, Eddie resigned himself to standing awkwardly on the side.

He lost Stan and Bill way early on, he figured as much. Bill was mildly popular and had many friends. Stan being glued to Bill as if he were a fly to a spiderweb -a metaphor which was said by Richie and earned a whack on the head from Stan, Eddie may not like the guy but it was an accurate analogy- and left with Bill. Eddie was secure enough to know that Bill would never consciously ditch him he just got caught up. He didn’t really know anyone else there, he thought he saw Richie but he’d rather jump into a freezing cold lake naked than walk over to Richie. As he stared at his phone, he barely registered that someone had stood next to him. When he looked over, he saw none other than his ex, Aaron.

Aaron was his first boyfriend, first love, first anything really. They had met senior year of high school and began dating within a month. They were good at first, they got along and had a lot of fun. They even went to the same college just to be with one another and they made plans to live together before they realized that they shouldn’t. They thought that it would hurt their relationship that early on. As it turns out it hurt their relationship either way as Eddie was spending almost all of his time doing school work and tensions began to rise. Apparently instead of talking to Eddie, Aaron decided it was a brilliant idea to cheat on him. Needless to say, there were way too many tears exchanged and insults thrown. It ended with Eddie stomping out and not leaving his room for a week.

“Uh, hi?” Eddie took a step away

“Hi Eddie, its, uh -it’s been a while,” Aaron rubbed the back of his head. Eddie cursed himself for still thinking he was attractive. His tousled brown hair still looked messy but attractive and he was still very much in shape.

“Yeah, and I would’ve liked to keep it that way but here we are,” he spat. Aaron winced,

“I deserve that,”

“You think?”

“Look, Eddie,” Aaron started, “I know what I did was wrong but I-,”

Eddie could see where this was going and panicked trying to think of something to say, “I have a boyfriend,” was what he opted to say. _Oh fuck_. Aaron’s face morphed into a confused expression.

“Who?” Aaron asked. Eddie looked to his left and conveniently Richie was standing there.

_Lord, please forgive me_, he thought. Eddie pulled Richie’s arm to turn him around. Richie nearly spilled his drink and his grin turned to annoyance when he saw Eddie, “What do you-?”

Richie didn’t even get to finish his sentence before Eddie kissed him. Richie’s eyes were blown wide and when Eddie let go, he opened his mouth and for the first time, he was speechless. Eddie mouthed a ‘sorry’ and turned to Aaron who stood with his mouth agape.

“See?” Eddie smiled, “now if you don’t mind,” and he yanked Richie towards the direction of the backdoor.

The backyard was quiet, it was dark and cold out. Eddie immediately tugged down the sleeves to his pale-yellow sweater and chastised himself for wearing shorts. He let out a breath and sank down to the floor holding his head in his hands. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. He felt the tears welling up but blinked them away so Richie wouldn’t ask what’s wrong. It was hard because there was a certain thickness in his throat that he knew could be helped with a sob. It was becoming difficult to breathe and Eddie knew he was at the point of no return.

“What the fuck was that!” Richie exclaimed, “I was totally about to get lucky and then-,”

“God- I’m- I’m sorry, Richie, that was my ex, and I-I-I freaked so, God I kissed you, and now he thinks that-that we’re dating,” Eddie wheezed, he searched his pockets with his head still down and took out his inhaler. He shook it and took a puff, “Fuck I’m so stupid,”

“Jesus Eds you need to calm down,” Richie rolled his eyes but when Eddie had lifted his head to glare at him Richie’s eyebrows went up, “Holy fuck are you okay?”

“Not at the moment,” Eddie sighed as he rubbed his eyes. He heard the brunette sigh, Eddie looked at Richie and saw him scratching the back of his neck looking everywhere but him. Finally, they made eye contact then Richie took a seat next to him which was surprising, to say the least, “What are you doing?”

The taller of the two stayed quiet as he took two small pieces of paper out of the pocket of his bomber jacket. He handed a piece to Eddie, “Take this,” seeing his apprehension Richie rolled his eyes, “just do it, I promise it helps.”

Eddie with his hands still shaking took the paper and listened as Richie talked softly. He instructed him on folding the paper in intricate ways. As much as Eddie would hate to admit it, he felt his panic slowly going down. Richie’s voice was oddly soothing and unlike his usual voice. It was as if he was cutting past all the bullshit just for Eddie (which made his face flush slightly). Eventually, he was left with a small something or rather, looking over at Richie he was that the other man had made a beautiful swan.

Eddie frowned, “Why doesn’t mine look anything like yours?”

Richie laughed lowly and holy shit it sent shivers down Eddie’s spine, “It’s your first time Eddie, you’re not going to be great at it,”

And if Eddie sucked in a breath at Richie using his actual name or at the way his smile seemed so genuine in that particular moment, then that was Eddie’s secret.

…

He awoke the next day to a questioning Bill, Stan and a worried Ben. “What the hell is this?” Bill asked shoving his phone in Eddie’s face. Eddie saw a picture of him kissing Richie and he felt a sense of panic course through him.

“Oh, fuck me,” Eddie groaned

“I mean I always thought it’d happen,” Stan shrugged and Eddie lifted his head

“What?”

“It’s a trope,”

“Whatever it is,” Bill interjected, “I’m upset you didn’t tell me dumbass; we’re supposed to tell each other everything.”

“Look, Bill,” Eddie sighed, “it’s a long story,”

“One that you’ll tell when you’re ready,” Ben assured

“But,” Bill started

“When he’s ready,” Ben glared and Bill backed down, “also, Richie’s in the living room,”

Eddie flung his blanket and stood up, “What?” he didn’t wait for an answer as he ran out to the living room. He barely even thought about the fact that he was wearing short shorts and an oversized sweater. They were his panic clothes, they were well worn and made him feel safe when he was at his worse. Lo and behold sitting on the couch with his feet on the coffee table. He wore black jeans, a white t-shirt with a loud Hawaiian overshirt his glasses nearly falling off his nose.

“Gee Eddie, if I had known you dressed so cute in the-,”

“Get the hell out of my house, I don’t want to talk about what happened and I’d rather forget it ever happened,” Eddie interrupted.

Richie held up his hands in mock surrender, “Slow down there buckaroo, I think you’re moving a little fast,”

“Yeah and you’re not moving at all,” Eddie retorted

“Listen, I have a proposition for you,” Richie stood up, Eddie had to look up to match his gaze, “Your friends, mainly Bev if we’re being honest, keep bugging you about getting into a relationship and my folks keep nagging me about it. So, how about we keep this little act up, just in front of a few people?”

“We barely get along,” Eddie stated, “what the fuck makes you think we could make this work?”

“It’s a symbiotic relationship,” Richie continued, “We both get something in return.”

Eddie pinched the bridge of his nose, “And when do you suppose is this going to end?”

“Haven’t planned that far ahead,” Richie smiled, “I guess when your mom finally agrees to go out with me.”

“That’s it get out I’m not considering it anymore,” Eddie waved him away and turned around to walk back to his room. Richie thwarted the plan when he latched onto his wrist.

“Okay okay sorry,” Richie turned Eddie around and let go of his wrist, “I’m serious though,”

Eddie contemplated for a minute, sure he couldn’t stand Richie and he didn’t want anything to do with him. He did think about how he did bring Richie into this and that from the look in Richie’s eyes he was being sincere. It would pay to get Bev off his back, and subsequently the rest of his friends.

“Fine,” Eddie sighed, Richie gave a big smile, “but we don’t know anything about each other so, we’ll meet later at the coffee shop to do just that.”

“Damn Eds, a date already?” Richie asked, “usually I would skip dinner and right into,”

“Nope, nope,” Eddie shook his head, “and that is not my name,”

“Well, if you’re my boyfriend then you need a nickname,” Richie reasoned

“You will not call me that ever again,” Eddie started pushing him towards the door, “Stan! Your buddy is leaving!” Stan walked out with his arms crossed as he watched Eddie pushed the walking bamboo stick out the door.

“Jesus Richie, even your boyfriend is annoyed by you,” Stan commented

“Well, he certainly can’t be that annoyed if he’s dating me,” Richie smiled and wrapped an arm around Eddie. He gave him a peck on the cheek and whispered in his ear, “I’ll see you at 3,”

Eddie blushed as the two walked out, he was left wondering what the hell just happened.

…

Stan had woken up that same morning wrapped in Bill’s arms. He smiled and turned to so he was face to face with him. Stan debated on waking the sleeping boy but decided against it. They were up until three and Bill needed his sleep, plus he wasn’t working so there wasn’t anything to worry about. He was content to just lay there in his arms for the rest of the morning, it was always like that. Ever since they started dating, they’ve had many special moments. Their first date when they almost got mugged outside a Greek restaurant. Their first kiss outside Stan and Richie’s apartment, hell even their first time in Bill’s bed. But on top of all that was every morning that he woke up in Bill’s arms.

There was just something so pure about waking up next to him. It was refreshing and Stan could honestly see himself waking up next to him for the rest of his life. He held back a sigh, he wished that they could legitimately move in together but then Richie wouldn’t be able to hold himself up and he knew it was the same for Eddie. He genuinely loved them but wished that they could be friends so they could live together but that didn’t seem to be in the foreseeable future.

Bill shifted in his sleep, “M-morning baby,” he mumbled into Stans curls. The curly-haired boy smiled,

“Morning babe,” they lied there for a few minutes just enjoying one another’s company before Bill reached over to grab his phone. Stan heard a gasp come from the taller boy, “What’s up?”

“R-Richie and E-E-Eddie,” Bill said eyes blown wide, “The-they ki-ki-kissed,”

“Hey babe, you’re stuttering slow down,” Stan cupped Bill’s cheek, “Richie and Eddie kissed?”

Bill took a deep breath and nodded, “Ben just shared a picture to me from last night.”

Bill showed Stan the photo and the pair were indeed kissing. Eddie’s arms were wrapped around Richie’s neck as he stood on his tip-toes to reach him. Richie’s eyes were comically large and his arms were wide as if trying to keep his drink from spilling. Eddie’s eyes were shut tight.

“Huh,”

“That’s all you have to say?” Bill asked as he stood up shredding his sleeping clothes in favor of a blue baseball tee and jeans.

“Well yeah,” Stan said simply sitting up so his blanket covering his lap, “are you seriously getting dressed?”

“Yes,” Bill sighed, “I just, I’m going to meet Ben and ask him where he got that,”

“Babe, why does it matter?” Stan asked finally standing up

“Why wouldn’t Eddie tell me?” Bill’s voice was quiet as if he really couldn’t understand why Eddie wouldn’t say anything.

“Maybe he wanted it to be a secret,” Stan suggested, “maybe it’s a new thing for them,”

It took some talking but Bill finally calmed down and they invited Ben and Richie over. Ben showed up bringing muffins and coffee for the morning which Bill scarfed down while Stan calmly took it piece by piece. Richie then stumbled in haphazardly shucking on his dreadful Hawaiian shirt. Stan rolled his eyes, he looked fine before but Richie insisted on showing himself off like a goddamn Peacock or a Vogelkop Superb.

“Hey Big Bill, Stan the man, Benny,” he breathed, “mind if I lay on the couch for a second?”

“Go ahead dude,” Bill gestured Richie thanked him and proceeded to fall flat on the couch.

Bill moved to stand behind Stan draping his arms over him, hugging the curly-haired boy closer, “Ben where did you-?”

“Bev sent it to me,” Ben shrugged, “she said and I quote, ‘holy shit! I knew they would get together’ so I sent it to you to ask if you knew anything but judging by your reaction you didn’t.”

“Jesus Christ,” Bill whispered letting his head fall on Stan's shoulder. Stan reached an arm up to play with Bill’s hair comfortingly.

“I think we should just ask either Richie or Eddie,” Stan suggested and they all turned to look at Richie who seemed to be in his own little world.

“Well, I don’t want to wake up Eddie,” Ben said quietly, “he’s just an angry little demon in the morning,”

“He’s not wrong,” Bill said, “but I’ll go ahead and do it,”

…

Richie was fidgety person by nature, when he was younger his mom would remark that he just had a lot of energy and that putting him in a sport would help that. It didn’t but now Richie was a master of soccer so he guesses he could thank his mom for that at least. His father just brushed it of saying that the boy would grow into his nerves, which also wasn’t entirely accurate either. So, he was stuck with a mastery of kicking balls -which in hindsight isn’t exactly what he would like to do- and a set of lanky limbs that did nothing for him except knock things over at the worst possible time.

Right now, though he was fidgeting with a napkin, it was slowly turning into an origami swan without him even thinking. Eddie would be here any minute and Richie honestly was ready to bolt the moment he walked through the door. Don’t ask him about why he chose to continue this fake dating thing, he truly was tired of his folks suddenly taking an interest in his life, or more specifically his love life. Richie guesses he saw this as an opening to get them off his back which would be helpful, he’s also seen Eddie being grilled by their friends about dating.

Eddie walked in wearing a dark blue polo and shorts, his eyes found Richie nearly instantly and the boy had an immediate feeling of dread. He didn’t exactly hate Eddie it's just that he was so uptight about everything and Richie couldn’t see himself meshing well with Eddie. Well, now look at what you’ve done, an inner voice told him.

“Let’s get this over with,” Eddie grunted as he quickly sat down.

“Is that any way to greet your boyfriend,” Richie teased

Eddie rolled his eyes and began spatting out, “I was born on November 3rd, my mom’s name is Sonia but we don’t talk much anymore, I’m majoring in auto mechanics. I love sweet foods but despise sweet coffee. I have a fear of germs and- are you even listening?”

He asked after seeing Richie begin to stare off. Richie blinked a few times, “Yeah, November 3rd, Sonia, auto mechanics, sweet foods, fuck sweet coffee and a major germaphobe,”

“You remembered all that?”

Richie raised an eyebrow, “You literally just said it, it’s not like it was that complicated.”

“Well, my favorite color is teal, I grew up in Derry, Maine, a shitty place I don’t recommend. I came out in 10th grade and have had a total of two actual boyfriends and a few hookups.”

“Teal, shitty Derry, 10th grade coming out, two boyfriends and gets lucky every now and then,” Richie recited. Eddie nodded seeming satisfied, Richie started saying, “Well, I was born March 7th to the lovely Wentworth and Maggie Tozier. Went was a dentist and loved his son but alas he became consumed by the old work monster and Mags-,”

“Jesus, can’t you take this seriously?” Eddie interjected.

Richie glared, “Fine. My parents and I talk every now and then, I’m majoring in Communications, I love my spicy shit and I have a fear of clowns,”

Eddie snorted, “Clowns, really?”

He nodded, “Yes, they’re some scary motherfuckers. Anyway, my favorite color is purple, I grew up in a small ass town that I have blocked out of my memory, never came out because I was outed on Facebook, those bitches, and I’ve never been in a serious relationship,”

Eddie’s eyebrows raised, “You were outed?”

Richie smirked slightly, “It’s old news y’know been there done that,”

“Well,” Eddie started he began twiddling his thumbs, which had been the first sign that he was nervous. He bit his lip and ran a hand through his hair before continuing, “I think I got all of that, Communications seems like a perfect fit for you. I don’t know why I didn’t think of that before,”

“You’re cute when your nervous,” Richie spat out. He wished to say that he regretted even saying that but honestly, that wasn’t the case. Eddie was super adorable at the moment and Richie was considering absolving Eddie of anything rude he’s ever said to him. Eddie blushed and diverted his attention to Richie’s small origami swan, “‘Sides what’d you think I studied,”

“I don’t something easy to get through,” Eddie mumbled, “like English,”

“Well, Eds,”

“Do not call me that,”

“When I walk at graduation, I want it to be worth something,” Richie leaned back letting his legs spread and arms flop off the armrests, “I didn’t exactly have the best high school graduation,”

“And why’s that?” Eddie tilted his head and that almost made Richie spill out his entire life story without another thought. Luckily, he had a better reign on his mouth than when he was a kid,

“A story for another day my love,”

“That’s something old British people say, not a 6”1 twenty-year-old,” Eddie scrunched his nose with disgust.

“Well if you do say so yourself,” Richie said in a British accent, “I’ll talk to you like this for the rest of our time together, you’re lucky, my love, my accents have drastically improved.”

Eddie rolled his eyes as his fingers drifted towards the swan, “This is cute Richie,”

“Just like you,” Richie commented, Eddie stifled a laugh a lifted the swan, “Keep it Eds, Stan would probably kill me if I brought another one of those fuckers’ home.”

“Do you seriously make that many?”

Richie gave a half-hearted shrug, “They’re easy to make and my hands just do it,”

Eddie hummed and finally looked Richie in the eyes, “We should figure out how we got together,”

With that they sat and talked for over an hour, they decided that they got together a few weeks ago. Richie would say that he swooned for Eddie and he always secretly loved him; Eddie would say that he just recently realized his feelings. They kept it a secret to figure things out and be with each other for a little bit. They quickly said goodbye and Richie walked away feeling odd, he couldn’t explain it but, in that hour, he saw an Eddie that wasn’t rude. Richie smiled to himself unknowingly.

…

The club was so loud that Bev thought her ears may start bleeding. After finding out about Richie and Eddie she decided that she needed someone. Figuring out her emotions be damned she didn’t want to be left out. She managed to convince Ben to take her to a club, he agreed but only on the basis that Mike could come along as well. Bev had agreed because why the hell wouldn’t Mike come along. This had led Mike to be annoyed on site that he even had to come.

“I don’t see why I had to come,” he had said

“You’re my moral support because Bev is totally ditching us the moment, she sees a hot girl,” Ben whined.

“Awe you know me so well,” Bev cooed.

And Ben did, in fact, know her, she considers herself a good friend but she had a one-track mind and got distracted easily. In her defense, the girl was totally cute but after a few minutes of talking, she knew that this girl wasn’t the one. So, she resigned herself to sitting at the bar nursing her drink with care. She’s been around enough to not get so drunk it throws people off but be just tipsy enough to be endearing. Her eyes scanned the crowd for another girl that could pique her interest but nothing seemed to be there.

“You know,” the bartender said, “trying to find someone to date is damn near impossible here, I suggest a one-night stand.”

Bev turned to see a woman with brown hair with her hair in a clip and a few piercings and holy shit she was actually beautiful. Bev chuckled trying to remain cool, “Yeah? Any suggestions?”

“Well,” the girl put a thinking face on, “no one seems to be good looking enough for someone like yourself. So, I guess you’d have to lower your standards.”

Bev hummed for a second, “Yeah, no can do I’m afraid. I have an unmoving standard list,”

“Then I suppose you’re not getting lucky tonight,” she said smiling

“Really? Because I can think of one person that meets those standards,” Bev really hoped this worked and by the quirk of the girls pierced eyebrow, maybe it had.

“I’m Dana,”

“Beverly.”

…

Eddie paced back and forth trying to figure out how to explain this to Richie. Beverly had texted him saying that she was bringing a potential suitor and to have Richie come for a double date. He knew that this was what their whole gig was about but it didn’t stop him from having a mild panic attack. This was practically their first real chance to show their relationship and that in of itself was nerve-wracking. It had been a few weeks since it started and the two met up a few times to talk and Eddie, despite his predisposition to dislike the dork, began to consider Richie a friend.

A knock at the door made Eddie straighten up, he smoothed his sweatpants and tugged on the sleeves of his red sweater. They were just staying in to watch a movie so there was no need for getting too dressed up. He opened the door to greet Richie who wore grey sweatpants and an obnoxious blue hoodie. Richie smiled and pushed up his glasses,

“Really glad I didn’t have to whack out the ole suit and tie for our first double date,” Richie said as he stretched his arms, “This is much comfier and much easier to take off.”

He said the last part lowly and made Eddie blush, “How the hell did you manage to make blue obnoxious as all hell?”

Richie chuckled and reached into his pocket to give Eddie an origami swan made of pink paper. This had somewhat become a ritual between the two, Richie would make several origami pieces to give Eddie. Some were bears others were flowers. Whatever Richie felt up to but if Eddie was being honest, the swans were his favorite.

Richie finally walked into the apartment, “So, Eduardo, are you finally going to tell me the full story about this so-called double date?”

Eddie placed the small swan on the bookcase shelf that he decided to reserve for Richie’s works. This earned some teasing from Bill which Eddie promptly ignored. He just needed a place to put them, there’s nothing wrong with it. He meticulously places the swan with the others so it showed without completely blocking the others.

“Bev is bringing over a potential girlfriend and asked me to bring you along,” Eddie tried his best to sound nonchalant but Richie didn’t seem convinced.

“Eddie Spaghetti you don’t have to worry so much,” Richie smiled, “all in the days work.”

Before Eddie could even respond Bev marched in wearing PJ shorts and a t-shirt. What followed behind her was a girl around their age. Her brown hair was in a messy bun, she had an eyebrow, nose and lip piercing. She wore dark green leggings with a black crop top and her smile was apologetic. This one clearly didn’t know that this was a common occurrence in Eddie’s life.

“Well, howdy-do miss Marsh,” Richie greeted in a southern accent, “how are you on this fine Friday night?”

“I’d be better with some pizza and ice cream in my stomach,” Bev laughed, “Oh! This is Dana, she’s a bartender,”

“Uh, hi,” she waved awkwardly, “sorry about bursting through the uh, the door,”

Eddie waved it off, “Listen, Bev does that all the time if she knocks then there’s an issue.”

They ordered pizza and chatted for a while. Eddie found out a few things, one; Richie was a black hole and nearly ate an entire pizza, two; Dana was 22 and Bev was absolutely smitten with her and three; Dana was probably going to be an amazing thing for Bev. Soon enough they were eating ice cream and watching a horror movie on Richie’s request. Eddie had almost sat next to Richie until the taller boy pulled Eddie into his lap. His large hands rested around his waist with his chin hooked over Eddie’s shoulder. He’d open his mouth every now and then to get a bite of ice cream which Eddie fed to him.

“Get your own spoon,” Eddie whispered as he shoved another spoonful of ice cream in Richie’s mouth.

“Why would I when I have a perfectly reasonable feeder in front of me,”

“Do I look like a goddamn food trough?” Eddie turned slightly.

“If you had to ask me, I’d say you look like a full course Italian meal,” Richie retorted with a smile.

Eddie quirked his eyebrow, “Italian?”

“Well, yeah, spaghetti is Italian,”

“You are fucking ridiculous,”

“Can you shut up?” Bev said with Dana chuckling beside her.

As the movie progressed and the ice cream was finished Eddie began feeling more and more comfortable on Richie’s lap which was weird to say the least. Never in a million years did he think he’d be sitting on his lap and actually contemplating falling asleep. His eyes drifted of to Bev and Dana who were sitting next to each other. Bev was messing with Dana’s hand while the girl was simply smiling and looked extremely comfortable. He smiled thinking about how comfortable they looked with each other. For a fleeting second, he wondered if he and Richie looked like that too.

Eddie shook his head slightly, that shouldn’t matter. Especially considering that they weren’t even a real couple. But then Richie shifted so they could lay down -as much as they could with the two girls on the other side of the couch- and tangling their limbs together.

“Sorry,” Richie whispered against Eddie’s head, “my legs were falling asleep.”

All Eddie could do was a nod and ignore the warmth he felt in his face. His eyelids began to droop before he completely fell asleep.

He woke up to someone whispering his name, he blinked himself awake and blearily looked up at Bev.

“Hey we’re gonna go,” she whispered and motioned toward the door, “be sure to thank Richie for the great night. I’ll see you in class on Monday,”

Eddie could barely formulate a sentence so he smiled and nodded. Bev chuckled and kissed his forehead. She left soon after that with Dana in tow, she waved goodbye before the door shut. Eddie settled back in registering ever so slightly that Richie was still clinging onto him. He couldn’t bring himself to care, however, because he felt safe and happy.

…

It was a month when Richie invited Eddie to his soccer game. Eddie was hesitant at first having never been to a game before but Richie gave him an award-winning smile and the fact that Bill and Stan were going. He chose to believe that he was going because that’s what boyfriends should do, not that Richie’s smile was probably Eddie’s favorite part about him, definitely not that.

Eddie pulled on his college’s hooded sweatshirt and jeans, he was going to meet Stan and Bill at the game. He ran a hand through his hair, he considered making a poster but decided that that may be too much. Eddie finally walked to the soccer field and started scanning the crowd for his friends. When he spotted the two, he jogged over and greeted them,

“Welcome to this bullshit, prepare to be bored for the next few hours,” Stan said as he walked over.

“Be nice,” Bill smiled, “we have to support Richie,”

“He doesn’t even like it, Bill,” Stan groaned, “he’s only doing it because his scholarship relies on him playing,” Eddie bit his tongue to avoid asking about his scholarship, as a boyfriend he should know that. So, he sat down silently and smiled.

The game was almost over and Eddie had to admit, he wasn’t very bored. His eyes tried to follow Richie the entire time, he wasn’t half bad. Richie did look slightly bored when the game hit a lull. However, when he was actually playing, he saw Richie play with everything he had. Even if he was playing well the game was neck and neck and they were down to their last minute. Eddie actually felt himself becoming nervous, he slowly leaned forward and subconsciously started biting his thumbnail which was a habit which only happened when he was nervous and not having a panic attack.

“Do you like soccer that much?” Stan asked, “I literally don’t see the appeal,”

Eddie shrugged, still biting at his nail, “I’ve never watched it before,”

“Guess it’s just Richie then,” Bill chuckled. Eddie ignored him and watched as Richie kicked the ball between his teammates. His eyes flitted between the giant red countdown and the actual game.

Eddie had never been a sports person, whenever there was a game, he’d be 100% at home instead. He never found them interesting and they were constantly the same turnout. Where he grew up his team won basically none of the time and when they won it was due to some foul play on the other team’s part. He also really hated the players; they were the ones who would always bully him about being gay. One time one went as far as to throw him around which by the end of junior year the same guy asked him for a blowjob.

Then a player on Richie’s team kicked the winning goal and Eddie found himself cheering with the others. He waited for a second before finding Richie, when he did he immediately gave him a hug, “You did great out there Rich!”

“Hey there Spaghetti man,” Richie laughed as he hugged him back, “are you finally giving me a nickname?”

Eddie scrunched his nose, “Okay I’m tired of you,” he let go of him ready to leave. Richie grabbed Eddie by the wrist turning him around. He placed a hand on Eddie’s waist.

“Where’s my good job kiss my love?” he asked

“You’re all sweaty,” Eddie answered, “take a shower and ask again.”

“Oh, are you a magic 8-ball now?” Richie laughed, he pecked Eddie’s lips, “gotta give them a show Eds, or no one going to believe we’re dating,”

He let go of a blushing Eddie to go wash up. Eddie’s face felt way too warm against the cool breeze. They hadn’t kissed since the party, or could Eddie really call it kissing if neither reciprocated? He shook his head and turned to face his friends.

“You guys are so gross,” Stan commented. Eddie rolled his eyes and flipped him off.

“I’m glad you guys found each other,” Bill said and Eddie dropped the bird and his face turned even redder.

…

When Bill invited Eddie and Richie to come to dinner with him, he didn’t expect to have a panicking Eddie pacing his room. He had simply said to dress nicely because the place was well-respected but not overly fancy. Eddie had started his pacing asking his questions out loud but now he had downgraded to whispering them, his hand holding his other arms elbow up as his other hand was over his mouth. 

“Eddie,” Bill sighed as his eyes followed his back and forth, “you’re freaking out, come sit down and talk to me,”

Eddie begrudgingly sat down next to him, “How well-dressed, like should I go suit and tie? Or is that too formal? Or should I wear just a button-down with a tie? Or just the button down? What about shoes? And the pants if not a suit?”

“Button-down with slacks and semi-nice shoes are fine Eddie,” Bill soothed, “what’s got you so freaked out?”

“Bill, whenever I get dressed, I hear my mom’s voice chastising me for looking too ‘gay’,” Eddie shakingly admitted, “it gets worse when I have to dress all nice. She would spend hours yelling at me for not wearing the right thing before finally getting me dressed herself. She’d do my hair and shit and I just, I’m always doubting and doubting,”

“Hey, Eddie,” Bill reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder, “you look great no matter what and I’m sure Richie will be complimenting you all night, you know that.”

“Do I?” Eddie looked down at his hands which were fidgeting. Bill grabbed one of his hands.

“I do,”

When they go to the restaurant Bill gave Stan a big hug. He whispered how good he looked, which in all fairness, he did. His mint button-down was tucked into his black trousers with his hair just slightly done. Stan smiled shyly and pecked Bill’s lips with a returned sentiment.

“You look great my love,” Richie said as he encircled his arms around Eddie’s hips. The smaller boy had decided on trousers with a simple white button-down.

Richie wore a button-down as well with a blazer, “So do you,” Eddie blushed.

Bill had never seen a bigger smile on Richie’s face.

…

It had been four months since Stan had found out about Richie and Eddie. Stan was seriously thinking about asking if they wanted to move in with each other. Maybe it was a little early on in their relationship but Stan was growing restless with each passing moment. He had been wanting to move in with Bill for months now but couldn’t bring himself to do that to Richie.

Richie and Stan were close, and they have been since they were first paired as dormmates. Richie had grown dependent on Stan just as much as Stan had grown dependent on Richie. However, Stan grew dependent for different reasons than Richie had. He had grown dependent on him to loosen up and have some fun every now and then. Which, Stan would begrudgingly admit has worked, he and Richie shared way more laughs than he would ever share with the others.

Richie grew dependent on Stan for accountability. He remembered when he first met Richie, it was a little crazy how different that Richie was from the person he is now. He was almost always either drunk, high or both. Stan grew irritated by his, at that time, dormmates' behavior; thinking that it was just him trying to live the ‘college life’ however, it wasn’t as easy as that. When Stan brought it up Richie freaked out and after a few hours of arguing he agreed. That’s when Stan saw him go through detox and had to take him to the hospital. Stan was terrified, never being in that kind of situation before but luckily Richie turned out mostly fine. After that he had asked Stan to be accountable for him, Stan reluctantly agreed thinking that someone also going through his issue would be better.

From then on it was a strong bond, Stan was there during phone calls with Richie’s parents, which were when his old habits came at its strongest. On the flip side, Richie was there whenever Stan was having a breakdown about Bill or school or anything really. So, yeah, he was scared to move somewhere else without Richie.

Logically, he knew that he would always call Richie for help when he felt weird about talking to Bill. It was just, he couldn’t imagine not living with his friend. This almost overshadowed his need to live with Bill.

“Do you think,” Stan asked Richie one evening, “that you would move in with Eddie at any point?”

“Trying to get rid of me already?” he teased tossing a piece of popcorn in his mouth as he leaned over the counter to face Stan.

He crossed his arms, “Well, no, but you seem to really like Eddie and I just want the best for you,”

There it was, the small smile that was past all the bullshit, it only happened when he talked about Eddie, “I guess I do; I just don’t think Eddie wants to move in with me after four months.”

Stan nodded, “I understand, I’m just antsy at this point,”

“You can move in with Bill y’know,” Richie pointed out, “I can live on my own and if it gets really bad, Mike could always use a roommate,”

“Oh, I’m sure he’d love that,” Stan remarked, “I’m sure he’d love being woken up by loud 80’s rock music and would certainly love you doing your weird accents all the time.”

“Pshhh, Mike loves me and my accents,” Richie waved it off, “also that’s only if I need the help.”

“Rich, no offense but your job at the radio station isn’t exactly sustainable where you’re at now,”

“And?” Richie started messing with a small piece of paper, “look Stan I know you want to move in with Bill. I don’t mind it but it just scares me, what if I have a jolly episode and you’re not there?”

“Then you call me, or talk to Eddie,” Stan quirked an eyebrow, “you have told Eddie, right?”

Richie’s eyes that were just focusing on his paper told Stan immediately, “Jesus Richie.”

“I’m sorry okay?” Richie cried dramatically and tossed the swan in the air, “it’s just not something I’ve really talked about with anyone else.”

“I think you need to tell Eddie regardless,” Stan said, “but if you need it call me, I’ll come over at any time. You know that.”

“Yeah,” Richie nodded, “you should move in with Bill, Stan. It’s my fault that you’re not anyway,”

“Richie it’s not your fault,” Stan stayed calm, he knew Richie was starting to fall down a hole. When he said those things, he wasn’t looking for sympathy he genuinely thought it his fault. It was just how he was raised, to believe everything was his fault. “I’m scared to move too. You’ve helped me so much, it’s just it's bound to happen right?”

Richie smiled, “Yeah, and hey that means I won’t have to worry about you guys squat jumping in a cucumber field in my bed anymore,”

Stan smacked Richie lightly, “That was one time,”

…

Eddie watched as Richie fiddled with a piece of paper nervously. They were sitting on his bed after a cryptic message from Richie saying that they needed to talk. Eddie was freaking out; did he want to end the fake relationship? God, he doesn’t know if he wanted that, he has warmed up to Richie over these few months even more so, gained a crush on him.

No Eddie wasn’t proud of it, but it was hard not to when every touch set Eddie on fire and every small kiss to prove their relationship was real made Eddie wish it was. He couldn’t believe that the trashmouth had actually managed to get Eddie all flustered.

“Full disclosure Eds,” Richie breathed, “I’m telling you this for Stan and Bill, I assume Bill has talked to you?”

Eddie nodded, Bill had asked if Eddie wanted to move in with Richie and after much deliberation, he agreed. They were just friends, couldn’t hurt, hopefully.

“Okay so,” Richie began taking a shaky breath, “a few months ago, I had told you about how I wanted my college graduation to mean something. Well, that’s because I don’t remember my high school graduation. For some, I don’t know the context? I guess? Growing up I had a pretty good life, had the biggest house in my neighborhood and parents who loved me. But after a while, things started to change. I saw Went less and less, Mags started drinking more and more and next thing I knew I didn’t have parents anymore. Whenever something bad happened, my mom would yell at me telling me it was all m-m-my fault. It happened so often that I’ve, I’ve sorta grown to believe it. I-If something bad happens I blame myself instantly, I can usually talk myself out of it but it still happens,

“Near the end of junior year, I started -I started drinking a little and getting high. It was fun, I could ease myself and get rid of my nerves. Then I did it more and more until it was all I did, still got good grades and all. At least, that’s what my report card tells me. When I walked, I don’t remember it, whenever I look at my diploma, I feel ashamed. I didn’t earn that Eds, I don’t deserve to have that shit hanging so it's under my bed. Anyway, when I became Stan’s dormmate he convinced me, I think, to go through detox, sober up. I nearly- I nearly died Eddie, I was, I was miserable,

“I couldn’t get into my phone; I couldn’t remember my password. I took up origami to keep myself from fidgeting and to keep myself distracted. I could barely remember where the hell I was. I thought I still lived in my hometown; I couldn’t remember moving I had contacts of people I didn’t know. It fucking sucked. So, when I say that I want graduation to mean something that’s why. When my AA group had asked why it started, and I said because it was better than being lonely and depressed. The reason I’m telling you this is because if we move in, you may see me get to the point of nearly breaking my two-year sobriety because my mom got really drunk again. She’s been getting better but there are still times, you know and you’ll probably have to help me before Stan comes,”

Richie finished; he had started crying at some point during this talk. Eddie wasn’t sure if he even knew he was crying. Eddie was stunned into silence; he didn’t expect this kind of emotion from Richie and next thing Eddie knew he was hugging Richie tightly. Richie clung onto him like it was his lifeline. They stayed like that for a few minutes before Eddie let go.

“Of course, I’ll help you. You know, when I was younger, I had my mom always telling me I was sick. She forced me to take pills and took me to the doctors more times than I could count. Whenever I tried to stand up to her, she’d put the blame on me as well. Make me feel bad about everything. Luckily, Aaron was there to help me through those times. I’ve gotten so much better about the germs; I still have the fear of course but I can manage it. I can’t look in the mirror without hearing her judgment clouding my brain. I freak out anytime I’m getting dressed. I can barely take compliments because I don’t believe them. Sometimes, they get so bad I have major panic attacks” Eddie said slowly. His story ran deeper but Richie didn’t need that he needed comfort.

“I guess we’re both 50 Shades of fucked up huh?” Richie laughed

“You did not just reference 50 Shades of Grey,” Eddie groaned and pushed Richie off his lap.

“Oh, so you got the reference,” Richie nudged Eddie with his foot, “guess that means you’re into some kinky shit huh Eds?”

“God shut up,” Eddie laughed despite his predisposition.

“Like mother like son,”

“Gross!”

“It’s not gross, it’s perfectly reasonable,”

“I will shove my fist down your throat,”

“I’m not necessarily a fan of choking but if you want to be choked, I think I could arrange that,”

Soon enough, tears were forgotten and laughter was in its place.

…

They were at a gay club, don’t ask Richie why, don’t ask him how because honestly, he had no fucking clue. He hasn’t been to a club in God knows how long, he certainly didn’t. He knew that he as only here to be a designated driver and nothing more. It wouldn’t stop him from having fun though, in fact, he was pretty sure he was intimidating people with all his incredible dancing but Stan simply said that it was because he ‘looked like a flailing ostrich and to sit the fuck down before you hurt someone’. Maybe Richie could concede to that point but only on the basis that he would rather watch Eddie.

He had to give it to the tiny man, he knew how to move. Especially in a certain manner in which ‘club dancing’ was. He couldn’t keep his eyes off him the entire man and while that was all fine. Richie enjoyed watching Eddie regardless because how couldn’t you, but that meant other people were looking too.

Richie heeded Stan's advice and sat down with a soda without anything added. He leaned against the bar and kept his eye on Eddie. Well, he wasn’t the only one and sure enough, some dude decided to go up to dance and talk to Eddie. Richie clenched his hand around his cup before turning around to grab a napkin. He started to make a swan, which was his go-to since Eddie expressed his love of them.

He felt a tap on his shoulder, Richie turned around to see Eddie, “Are you good?”

“Of course, Spaghetti man,” Richie smiled, “why wouldn’t I be?”

“I just don’t know how fun this could be for you,” Eddie pouted, “I mean you were basically exiled by Stan,”

Richie leaned his head back as he laughed, when he looked down at Eddie again, he saw his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down while his eyes were trained on Richie’s neck. He quirked an eyebrow, “Uh, Eds?”

Eddie shook his head, “Huh?”

“Listen, it’s nothing new,” Richie assured, “go out there and talk to the other guys who are staring at your delectable ass,”

Eddie looked affronted, “My ass is not delectable,”

“I beg to differ, spaghetti is quite tasty,”

“You. Are. Insufferable.”

Richie chuckled as a man walked up to them and tapped Eddie on the shoulder. The boy whipped around to look at him, “I saw you dancing out there, you looked pretty good. Mind if we have a dance,”

“Dude this is a club, not a fucking prom dance,” Richie said and Eddie glared at him from over his shoulder.

The man laughed, “True I guess.”

Eddie cleared his throat, “Thanks, but I’m taking a breather. Also, I was kind of talking to someone,” he gestured to Richie who simply nodded.

“Right, his boyfriend may I add, so please keep your hands to yourself,”

The man nodded slowly looking Eddie up and down obviously trying to figure out a way to get into his pants. Richie refrained from punching him in the face and simply pulled Eddie so his back was against his chest. Richie glared at the man till he surrendered and walked away.

“Jealous much?” Eddie questioned turning around to wrap his hands around his neck.

“Of course,” Richie agreed making Eddie’s face turn red, “I changed my mind, I don’t want anyone else to have spaghetti.”

…

It was when they started moving when Eddie had ended up dealing with one of Richie’s attacks. It was normal at first, their first night moved in together -as friends as Eddie had to keep reminding himself- and Richie’s phone started ringing.

“Alright Eds,” Richie rubbed his hands together before picking up the phone, “be prepared, they’re getting better but I have no clue what they’re going to say,”

Eddie nodded before the voice of a woman filled the room, “Hey Richard, how are you?”

“I’m great mom and you?”

“I’m doing well,” his mother's voice laughed, “how are you and your boyfriend? I’m so proud that you finally managed to convince someone to date you,”

Richie chuckled half-heartedly before he looked at Eddie, “One of a kind,” he agreed making Eddie blush, “he’s actually with me right now if you would like to talk with him,”

“Oh of course!”

“Hi Ms. Tozier,” Eddie said shyly

“Call me Maggie dear,” she replied, “sorry you can’t meet my husband, claims he has work but at this point, I’m sure he’s just screwing the secretary,”

“Oh, shit,” Richie whispered so his mom couldn’t hear him, “she’s actually drunk,”

“It’s- uh, fine Maggie,” Eddie had no clue how to respond, “I’m just glad to finally be able to talk to you,”

“You’re too sweet, so, what made you want to date my son? I’m sure it wasn’t his natural charm,”

“Damn mom,” Richie muttered, “tell me how you really feel,”

“Shut it, Richard,” Maggie snapped, venom seeping through her drunken voice, “I was talking to Eddie, don’t ruin this.”

Richie gave the phone to Eddie and slumped further into the couch, “Well, Maggie, he’s just nice, supportive, and a great guy. How couldn’t I fall for him?”

“That’s very sweet,” Maggie said, “I’m proud that someone has actually taken care of him. Tell me is he still getting high every day?”

“For fuck's sake,” Richie groaned, “Mom, we’ve been over this I don’t do this shit anymore,”

“Well I don’t know Richard,” she said almost nonchalantly like it was no big deal, “you were responsible for your father throwing himself into work and then you got yourself drunk and high nearly killing yourself on multiple occasions, I have a right to worry,”

Richie sucked in a breath, “You know I didn’t mean-,”

“And whose fault was it that we have to rely on a scholarship because of a car wreck?”

“Mom,” Richie pleaded holding back tears, “you told me to go-,”

“No Richard, you were intoxicated you shouldn’t have gone,”

“You were yelling at me,” Richie finally cried out, tears bursting as though they were waterfalls.

“And why was that Richard? Because you-,” Eddie hung up the phone.

He didn’t say anything as he did his best to soothe Richie. He took off his glasses and fell onto Eddie. Richie’s sobs racking his body as he clung to Eddie tightly, “Fuck Eddie, I’m just, I’m just a screwup. Do you think, I should go back to doing what I was doing?”

“No Chee, you don’t have to,” Eddie said into the boy’s hair, “I’m here, Stan will be here. Just stay with me okay?” Eddie quickly texted a message to Stan telling him to hurry the fuck over.

Eddie looked around for something to help distract Richie. His eyes landed on a piece of paper. Eddie tried to reach and grab it but Richie just held on tighter as he wept soaking his old t-shirt. Eddie kissed the top of Richie’s head telling him to let go for a moment. He complied slowly and he wiped his eyes with his sleeves.

“Hey Chee,” Eddie quietly beckoned, “wanna make a swan? A wise man once told me it helps,”

Richie barely smiled as he held out his hand and slowly began making a swan. Taking longer than he usually did. Eddie watched him carefully before a knock sounded on the door. Eddie welcomed Stan in quickly, Stan said a quick hi before bolting in to see Richie. Eddie watched Stan kneel down and talk, it was low so Eddie couldn’t hear anything but saw as the lanky boy seemed to calm down immensely. He couldn’t help but feel sad, realizing he wasn’t the one who would be able to do that for Richie.

…

Richie had noticed Eddie’s weird behavior almost instantly. Ever since their first night, he seemed to be off, pushing himself away from Richie. He couldn’t but think he did something wrong and he thought of bringing it up with the smaller boy but stopped himself every time. It drew a huge wedge between the two for a week. Then by some miraculous common-sense Richie swallowed his fears and knocked on Eddie’s door.

“Eds,” Richie started before the door even opened, “whatever I did can I do anything to fix it?”

Eddie opened the door with a surprised face, “Rich, you didn’t do anything wrong,”

“But you,”

“I was an idiot and didn’t realize what I was doing to you,” Eddie sighed and gestured for him to sit on his bed. They took a seat before Eddie started, “Look after seeing Stan help you, I just felt bad. I wanted to help you but barely knew where to start. I made a half-assed attempt and it didn’t work and I felt like I fucked up. I was just brought back to my mom saying I wasn’t good enough that’d I always need her because who would want to be with me?”

“Eds,” Richie placed a hand on Eddie’s knew, “any guy would be lucky to have you. You’re so beautiful, no matter what your mom has said to you. I know you feel insecure about everything but trust me, I’ll let you know how to help me in those situations but you’ve gotta ask okay?”

Eddie nodded, “Okay, but I think you’re overselling me just a little bit,”

“You cannot be serious,” Richie chuckled, “just one look at you and guys are sent drooling Eds. I will go on and on about what I like about you because it's just that fucking easy. Remember when I told you? You’re a full course Italian meal,”

Eddie punched Richie slightly and they laughed. Things were back to normal and Richie, for all its worth, was happy that he and Eddie were finally friends. Even if he wanted it to be more.

…

Eddie truly believed the lines between fake and real were starting to blur more and more. Ever since the club and their two breakdowns, they started being more and more affectionate without anyone else around. They went out together and no one else was with them. It was truly fucking with Eddie’s head and he wished there was a simple way to say that he wanted more. He wanted to date Richie for real, he wanted to kiss him within the confines of there own place. He wanted to wake up wrapped in Richie’s arms.

This realization was startling and jarring, he thought about pushing himself away. He thought of ending it but realized quickly that Richie would think it was his fault and that it was not what Eddie wanted. So, he held back, trying to figure out what the hell to say to Richie to make him realize that Eddie wanted more.

Today didn’t seem like that day until Richie barreled into his work. Eddie had been working on the engine of a car that was brought it. His face was greasy and he probably looked like a sweaty mess. His co-workers were the only people who were allowed to see him like this. He was in his element and when people disturb him he gets upset or embarrassed by the state of his dress. When Richie ran into his place, he felt more embarrassed than upset.

“Hey Eds,” Richie panted, “listen I know you hate people in your workplace but I brought food for the end of your shift.”

Eddie blushed and bit back a smile, “I’ll be out in a minute, go sit over there.”

“Okay, working boy,” Richie winked and strides over to the chairs.

Eventually, Eddie finishes his shift and cleans himself up. His work had a very small shower for rinse offs specifically, so he stood under the stream of water and sighed. Once he deemed himself clean enough, he stepped out and pulled on jeans and a baggy T-shirt. He walked over to Richie and sat down.

“So, what brought you here?” Eddie asked as he pulled out the sandwich Richie handed to him.

“I wanted to see my love working,” Richie smiled, “Is that a problem?”

“No, I just wasn’t expecting it,” Eddie bashfully admitted

“I could get used to it,” Richie said nonchalantly, “picking you up for work before I have to go,”

“That’s something actual boyfriends do Richie,” Eddie pointed out with a sting through his heart.

Richie’s face fell slightly, “Maybe that’s what I want, Eds,”

It felt like time had stopped and sped up at the same time. His body felt as though the sun had shone upon it and instead of burning him it grew a garden. He took Richie’s hand tentatively, scared that any move could break their trance. It was just them, no matter how cheesy no matter how odd. That was them, a beautiful mixture of odd, cheesy maybe a dash of stupid. Eddie wanted nothing more than to hold Richie for the rest of his life.

“Chee, I want that too,” he whispered lowly so that only Richie could hear. There it was, Richie’s smile, that beautiful wonderful smile that shone as though nothing had ever tarnished it. Soon enough they were kissing, it was a little uncomfortable as they were just leaning without any support. Eddie couldn’t bring himself to care and it felt like a lifetime before they broke apart.

“Eat quickly, Eds,” Richie whispered huskily, “because I’m craving spaghetti right now.”

…

They stumbled into Richie’s apartment not even pulling apart if they ran into something. Richie’s arms were wrapped tightly around Eddie. Eddie’s hands were tangled in his hair after finding out that the brunette loved his hair being pulled because of fucking course he did. Eddie had to stop himself from whining when Richie pulled away before he ducked his head to nip and suck on Eddie’s neck. He eventually found that one spot that made Eddie’s -who was currently straddling Richie because they somehow made it to the couch- hips buck. Richie groaned and brought his lips back to Eddie’s. This time, it was Eddie who pulled away to markup Richie’s neck.

“Fuck Eds,” Richie groaned, “you’re gonna make me blow,”

Eddie pulled back fully, “You are not a fucking volcano Richie,”

Richie brushed Eddie’s curls back, “I would say you look beautiful but you chucked my glasses off somewhere and I can’t see shit.”

Eddie laughed, “Moment ruined?”

“I’d say so,”

“Sucks,” Richie sighed, “I was so prepared to take you too,”

“You made the volcano analogy,” Eddie pointed out. Richie frowned slightly and Eddie sighed, “but I think that would’ve been too fast right?”

Richie chuckled, “I guess so my love; Jesus can we look for my glasses I literally can’t see anything.”

They eventually found his glasses before throwing on some movies. They cuddled on the couch attention split between the movie and each other.

…

_Graduation_

Bev and Dana were still together happily, they hadn’t moved in or anything but they hung out a lot and Dana had been a nice addition to the group. She had grown close to each of them but she seemed to have the strongest connection to Mike. Bill and Stan were madly in love still and honestly, Eddie couldn’t see that changing.

He and Richie were still going as strong as ever. Eddie felt complete with Richie, which was a weird transition but a welcome one. They’ve gotten closer and closer Eddie was able to talk down Richie when Stan wasn’t available. Richie was able to boost Eddie up and give him laughter. He still received small swans from him, once Richie had made a swan for every week, they dated for their five-month anniversary. They hung up the swans in between the small lights that decorated their room.

And now, Eddie watched as Richie walked to receive his bachelors, he and the rest of their friends whooped and hollered. Eddie was pretty sure he had the biggest smile on his face watching him holding this paper with a huge amount of adoration. After the ceremony, the two found each other and Eddie gave him a small gift that he had stayed up all night to perfect.

Richie smiled as he held a small origami swan in his hand.

**Author's Note:**

> This took me way too long to write but I really like it, I hope you do too :)
> 
> Tumblr: thedesertpenguin


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